Hydrothermal insights into the deposition of invisible and visible gold within aresenopyrite
- Authors: Morey, A. , Tomkins, A. , Weinberg, R. , Bierlein, Frank , McKnight, Stafford , Davidson, G.
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Proceedings of the Ninth Biennial SGA Meeting, Dublin 2007, 20th August, 2007 p. 781-784
- Full Text: false
- Description: By studying backscatter electron (BSE) micrographs, and the major- and trace-element geochemistry of gold bearing arsenopyrite from the late-Archaian Bardoc Tectonic Zone, Western Australia, this study helps constrain the hydrothermal conditions of gold deposition associated with this common ore mineral.
- Description: E1
- Description: 2003005489
Leven Star deposit: An example of Middle to Late Devonian intrusion-related gold systems in the western Lachlan Orogen, Victoria
- Authors: Whittam, R. R. , Bierlein, Frank , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences Vol. 53, no. 2 (2006), p. 343-362
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This study documents an example of atypical gold mineralisation in the central Victorian gold province of the western Lachlan Orogen, Australia. Unlike the vast majority of orogenic gold deposits in this region, the Leven Star deposit at Malmsbury is characterised by a disseminated-stockwork style of mineralisation, a close spatial and temporal association with post-tectonic felsic intrusions, complex alteration characteristics and a Au-As-Sb (±Bi-Te-Cu-Zn-Pb-Sn-W) ore assemblage. In contrast to orogenic-style, metamorphism-related gold mineralisation (ca 440 Ma), which pre-dated magmatism in the western Lachlan Orogen by tens of millions of years, ore formation in the Leven Star deposit was synchronous with, and is paragenetically younger than, Middle to Late Devonian (ca 370 Ma) magmatism. On the basis of these timing relationships, as well as whole-rock geochemistry, and structural, petrographic and fluid-inclusion data, it is suggested that the Leven Star deposit is not orogenic in character and instead should be classified as intrusion-related. © Geological Society of Australia.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001628
Nature of gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield, southeast Australia
- Authors: Hough, M. A. , Bierlein, Frank , Ailleres, L. , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences Vol. 57, no. 7 (2010), p. 969-992
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield in southeast Australia is characterised by large gold deposits associated with a Late Devonian dyke swarm. The setting of this goldfield is unique because unlike the major gold deposits in Victoria, it occurs close to the eastern margin of the Western Lachlan Orogen, and highlights the disparities between the evolving phases of orogenic gold mineralisation in the Western Lachlan Orogen, and the contrasts between sediment hosted, dyke-associated and dyke-hosted gold mineralisation. This study integrates existing and new data from renewed mapping of the geology and geochemistry of three gold deposits near the township of Walhalla, in the historically important yet under-explored and under-researched Walhalla-Woods Point Goldfield. The ten highest yielding deposits within the goldfield are either hosted within, or adjacent to, intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm. This is due to the greater chemical reactivity of the calc-alkaline dykes, and the greater rheological contrast between the dykes and surrounding low-grade metasedimentary units, which allowed for the formation of dyke-hosted quartz breccia veins that are consistently favourable sites for gold mineralisation in the Walhalla Goldfield. This is in contrast to historical production, which concentrated on visible gold within the shear zone-hosted laminated quartz veins. Gold and As assay results have highlighted the increased levels of invisible gold disseminated along dyke margins in proximity to shear zones and quartz reefs. The high-yielding gold deposits hosted wholly by the dyke intrusions of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm are orogenic gold deposits, as they are not associated with elevated levels of Bi, W, As, Mb, Te and Sb, typical of intrusion-related gold deposits.
- Description: 2003008285
Petrogenesis of a Neoproterozoic magmatic arc hosting porphyry Cu-Au mineralization at Jebel Ohier in the Gebeit Terrane, NE Sudan
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , Reynolds, N. , Arne, Dennis , Bargmann, C. , McKeag, S. , Bullen, W. , Al-Athbah, H. , McKnight, Stafford , Maas, Roland
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ore Geology Reviews Vol. 79, no. (2016), p. 133-154
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The ca. 730 Ma porphyry Cu-Au deposit at Jebel Ohier in the Red Sea Hills of northeastern Sudan represents a rare example of a preserved Neoproterozoic magmatic-hydrothermal system which bears many similarities to major mineral-hosting ('productive') Tertiary-Cenozoic porphyries in circum-Pacific metallogenic belts. Petrographic, lithogeochemical and Sm-Nd isotope systematics confirm that the deposit formed in a supra-subduction setting and during the constructional stage of an evolving intra-oceanic magmatic arc. The calc-alkaline melts were sourced predominantly from juvenile reservoirs and received comparatively little input from continental character material. Comparison with igneous rocks from barren intrusions elsewhere in the region point to the absence of major crustal breaks but indicate that the ore-forming granodiorite-dacite porphyry complex at Jebel Ohier is the result of 'abnormal' and prolonged multi-phase arc plutonism. This process involved the formation of relatively hydrous and oxidized melts via the fractionation of magmas, which possibly had ponded at the bottom of the thickening lithosphere for a protracted period prior to their ascent. The tectonic trigger for the emplacement of the productive pluton into a pre-existing volcanic edifice at Jebel Ohier remains unconstrained. Preservation of what is considered the first documented porphyry Cu-Au deposit in the NE African portion of the Arabian Nubian Shield can probably be related to the accretion of the magmatic arc to a stable continental margin within a few million years of mineralization, thus enabling the deposit to escape excessive uplift, erosion and structural dismemberment (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DELSALAM MG, 1993, JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, V150, P1065
Possible intrusion-related gold systems in the western Lachlan orogen, southeast Australia
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic Geology Vol. 100, no. 2 (2005), p. 385-398
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- Reviewed:
- Description: Several gold deposits occurring in the western Lachlan orogen have geological, geochemical, and geochronological characteristics that distinguish them from typical vein-hosted orogenic gold deposits of the central Victorian gold province. The later are responsible for more than 90 percent, of primary (hard-rock) gold production from this region and are generally considered to represent the only economically significant type of gold deposit in the western Lach an orogen. Atypical gold occurrences at Malmsbury, Myrtle Creek, Mount Piper, and the Wonga deposit in the Stawell goldfield are characterized by a close spatial and temporal association with posttectonic felsic intrusions, disseminated to stockwork-style mineralization, alteration dominated by sericitization, sulfidation, silicification, carbonatization and tourmalinization, and associated complex An ± Mo-W-Bi-Te-Cu. The deposits have a number of features in common with intrusion-related gold deposits elsewhere in Phanerozoic orogenic belts. Although production from this type of gold mineralization in the western Lachlan orogen has been small compared to orogenic gold deposits, the possible existence of intrusion-related gold deposits has potentially important implications for exploration in this region and also provides significant clues to the tectonic framework and Paleozoic metallogeny of eastern Australia. © 2005 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001065
Tectonic and economic implications of trace element, Ar-40/Ar-39 and Sm-Nd data from mafic dykes associated with orogenic gold mineralisation in central Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , Hughes, Martin , Dunphy, J. , McKnight, Stafford , Reynolds, P. , Waldron, H.
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Lithos Vol. 58, no. 1-2 (Aug 2001), p. 1-31
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Mafic to intermediate dykes are spatially and temporally closely associated with major post-tectonic granitic complexes in the western Lachlan Orogen of SE Australia. These dykes, which range petrographically from basaltic to andesitic, are concentrated within several, north- to northwest-trending zones and were emplaced during two broad intervals of extensive magmatic activity during the Silurian–Devonian period. Geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic characteristics of these mafic intrusives are consistent with their formation in a complex subduction-related tectonic setting. Interaction between mantle-wedge material, sinking oceanic crust and input from the overlying continental crust resulted in the petrological and geochemical variations displayed by these and more felsic dykes throughout the study region. Field evidence and 40Ar/39Ar data show that in the eastern part of the Stawell Zone and in the northwest portion of the Bendigo Zone, mafic dyke were intruded between 410 and 400 Ma (Late Silurian/Early Devonian). Further emplacement in the Bendigo Zone and the eastern part of the Melbourne Zone took place at between 375 and 365 Ma (Middle to Late Devonian). Episodic mantle-derived magmatism was possibly related to step-wise rollback, slab detachment or changes in the angle and rate of westward subduction in response to periodically occurring accretionary pulses. A close spatial and temporal relationship also exists between the dykes and orogenic gold mineralisation in the central Victorian gold province. Mafic to intermediate dykes both crosscut, and are host to, mineralisation in a number of goldfields. Although there is little evidence for a direct genetic association, the two processes are linked by the common utilisation of translithospheric structures, which facilitated the rapid ascent into shallow crustal levels of both mantle-derived magma and crustal-scale ore-forming fluid systems. Previous studies have suggested that transfer of heat into the crust via ascending mafic mantle magmas can provide a thermal engine which triggers and sustains extensive crustal melting, thus explaining the commonly observed close association of mafic to intermediate and felsic intrusive suites. This study supports the viability of this mechanism and in addition, indicates that a causal link exists between the formation of mantle magmas in collisional zones and the generation of orogenic gold deposits.
- Description: C1
Tectonic and economic implications of trace element, Ar-40/Ar-39 and Sm-Nd data from mafic dykes associated with orogenic gold minerals in central Victoria, Australia : reply
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , Hughes, Martin , Dunphy, J. , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Lithos Vol. 63, no. 1-2 (Jul 2002), p. 119-123
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
The Fosterville (central Victoria, Australia) and globe-progress (Reefton, South Island, New Zealand) deposits : Examples of shear zone-related disseminated-style systems in low-grade metamorphic terrains
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , Christie, Anthony B , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 114th Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America , Colorado
- Full Text: false
- Description: Orogenic gold deposits in central Victoria and Reefton formed during the evolution of a Paleozoic accretionary system along the Pacific margin of Gondwana. The majority of deposits in both camps are characterised by coarse-grained gold that is hosted in laminated to massive quartz veins. These ‘lode’ structures are developed in isoclinally folded turbidites that have been metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies. At Fosterville, diffuse zones of mineralization occur along a high-angle reverse fault zone consisting of en-échelon, strike-parallel segments with oblique slip and strike slip movement. The Globe-Progress deposit is associated with an arcuate shear that flattens with depth forming a listric ramp flat. In contrast to ‘classic’ lode-style deposits, mineralization at Fosterville and Globe-Progress is predominantly hosted by massive sandstone beds, in quartz/carbonate vein stockworks, and in clay-rich fault breccias of quartz vein and sulfidic wall rock fragments. The porous sandstones, which are intercalated with carbonaceous slates, have a bleached appearance, are invariably sericitized and carbonatized, and are 'impregnated' with a disseminated arsenopyrite-pyrite(±stibnite) assemblage. Gold occurs as sub-micron inclusions within the sulfides and rarely as free grains with a diameter of 1-10 microns. Highest-grade disseminated mineralization occurs within acicular arsenopyrite crystals. Fluid inclusions from Fosterville range in composition from high salinity and relatively high CO2, to low salinity and H2O-predominance, suggesting precipitation of at least a portion of the veins under epizonal conditions.....
- Description: 2003004220
The Jebel Ohier deposit - a newly discovered porphyry copper-gold system in the Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield, Red Sea Hills, NE Sudan
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , McKeag, S. , Reynolds, N. , Bargmann, C. , Bullen, W. , Murphy, F. C. , Al-Athbah, H. , Brauhart, C. , Potma, W. , Meffre, S. , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Mineralium Deposita Vol. 51, no. 6 (2016), p. 713-724
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Ongoing exploration in the Red Sea Hills of NE Sudan has led to the identification of a large alteration-mineralization system within a relatively undeformed Neoproterozoic intrusive-extrusive succession centered on Jebel Ohier. The style of mineralization, presence of an extensive stockwork vein network within a zoned potassic-propylitic-argillic-advanced argillic-altered system, a mineralization assemblage comprising magnetite-pyrite-chalcopyrite-bornite (+/- gold, silver and tellurides), and the recurrence of fertile mafic to intermediate magmatism in a developing convergent plate setting all point to a porphyry copper-gold association, analogous to major porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposits in Phanerozoic supra-subduction settings such as the SW Pacific. Preliminary U-Pb age dating yielded a maximum constraint of c. 730 Ma for the emplacement of the stockwork system into a significantly older (c. 800 Ma) volcanic edifice. The mineralization formed prior to regional deformation and accretion of the host terrane to a stable continental margin at by c. 700 Ma, thus ensuring preservation of the deposit. The Jebel Ohier deposit is interpreted as a relatively well-preserved, rare example of a Neoproterozoic porphyry Cu-Au system and the first porphyry Cu-Au deposit to be identified in the Arabian-Nubian Shield. DELSALAM MG, 1993, JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, V150, P1065
The role of carbonaceous "indicator" slates in the genesis of lode gold mineralization in the western Lachlan orogen, Victoria, southeastern Australia
- Authors: Bierlein, Frank , Cartwright, I. , McKnight, Stafford
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists Vol. 96, no. 3 (May-Jun 2001), p. 431-451
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: "Indicator" slates have long been considered to represent a useful exploration guide for turbidite-hosted mesothermal lode gold mineralization in central Victoria. This assumption has been based on an apparent close spatial relationship between high gold grades and the proximity of thin, commonly pyritic and carbon-rich marker units, Detailed studies in a number of gold deposits throughout central Victoria, however, reveal that highest gold grades do not necessarily coincide with the presence of carbonaceous units. In many places where gold mineralization is associated with carbon-rich matter, the high C accumulations are the result of epigenetic remobilization during hydrothermal alteration and ore genesis. Petrographic, geochemical, and stable isotope IC. O, Si investigations into the origin and nature of the carbonaceous matter-mainly amorphous bitumens and pyrobitumen of organic origin, with biological fragments and rare graphite of both detrital and metamorphic origin-demonstrate that black shales within the Cambro-Ordovician succession ill central Victoria lacked the vital constituents to provide (1) a primary sink for precious metals, and (2) whereas the presence of carbonaceous matter was likely to affect the evolution of epigenetic hydrothermal fluids and, locally, may have facilitated gold enrichment, carbon-rich sedimentary rocks were not crucial for ore genesis on the deposit scale. Instead, the size of the hydrothermal cell, physicochemical conditions of the ascending fluids, and dynamic fault-valve behavior played far more significant roles in controlling gold precipitation. The importance of these processes has implications for exploration targeting sediment-hosted, lode- and disseminated-style gold mineralization in the western Lachlan orogen and in slate belt provinces elsewhere.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003002954